The Hills Have Eyes

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The Hills Have Eyes

R

Released Jul 22, 1977

1h 23m

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

67%

Tomatometer

27 Reviews

54%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Wes Craven's cult classic about cannibalistic mountain folk on the trail of stranded vacationers in the arid Southwest.

Critics Consensus

When it's not bludgeoning the viewer with its more off-putting, cruder elements, The Hills Have Eyes wields some clever storytelling and a sly sense of dark humor.

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Variety Staff

Variety

A satisfying piece of pulp.

Jul 22, 2008

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Derek Adams

Time Out

A heady mix of ironic allegory and seat-edge tension.

Feb 9, 2006

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Eric Henderson

Slant Magazine

Craven's latent sick streak gets a major workout here, and the rudest shocks seem to center around the "good" family's parental figures.

Rated: 2.5/4

Sep 10, 2003

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James Kendrick

Q Network Film Desk

works as a taut thriller, but it also leaves plenty of room for political and ideological tunneling, if only for its horrific inversion of American family values

Rated: 3/4

Jan 6, 2022

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

I've never been a Wes Craven fan, yet if there's one picture of his that I would place above all others, it would be The Hills Have Eyes.

Rated: 3/4

Nov 27, 2021

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Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

In essence, this is a cruel odyssey prizing the survival of the fittest, both family units operating by their own socially dictated codes, reduced to brutality and savagery for survival.

Rated: 3.5/5

Sep 30, 2020

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Nick O

This early Wes Craven grind-house banger about a family getting stalked by cannibals in the desert is still just as terrifying as it is brutal almost 50 years later.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/03/25

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Mike P

Iconic 70s drive-in horror epic from Wes Craven, is a bloody-vicious family feud!..Between the rich city-folks from Ohio and the desperate mutant mountainmen from New Mexico...So it's the House of Clark vs House of Jupiter; and the Ohioans vs the "Romans"...Class conflict at its best and most ferocious...As the Clarks voyage across country to their luxury vacation resort in San Diego in their mighty Range Roving Winnebago....On the occasion of Doug Senior and Ethel's Silver anniversary...But then are waylaid by the psychotic cannibalistic "Romans"; who viciously overtake them, and then battle them to the death over precious resources...Their women; and the Clark's baby...And in many ways this is an extension of Texas Chainsaw Massacre; but aging up all the characters and making it about TWO FAMILIES battling makes it thrilling in ways that the earlier movie wasn't! It's positively GAME OF THRONES! And the dirt cheap production values and the cheesy 70s Cucamonga conga sound track does get distracting...But Craven still conjures up enough compelling craziness here, and memorable, disturbing imagery and thrilling suspense set pieces to keep us entertained. So this is recommended.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/13/25

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James B

While the original two get overshadowed by the remakes I can kind of see why as the stakes aren't high and it's just more slow paced.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/13/25

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Audience Member

Greatest camping movie ever made.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/25

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Chris B

Boring and rubbish. This movie was not scary at all.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/06/25

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Movie C

Super Family Friendly! Watched this with my girls and they absolutely ADORED it! I recommend for family movie nights, get that popcorn ready ladies! An amazing heartwarming coming-of-age film both the kids and teens will enjoy.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/29/24

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Wes Craven

Director

Suze Lanier-Bramlett

Brenda Carter

Robert Houston

Bobby Carter

James Whitworth

Jupiter

Virginia Vincent

Ethel Carter

Russ Grieve

Big Bob Carter

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Synopsis

Wes Craven's cult classic about cannibalistic mountain folk on the trail of stranded vacationers in the arid Southwest.

Director: Wes Craven
Producer: Peter Locke, Kurt Tarvis
Screenwriter: Wes Craven
Distributor: Anchor Bay Entertainment, Vestron Video, Image Entertainment Inc.
Production Co: Blood Relations Co.
Rating: R
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 22, 1977, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 11, 2016
Runtime: 1h 23m
Sound Mix: Mono

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